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President's Pitch

TOSA (ACT Division) Incorporated



Greetings Everyone,
TOSA (ACT) Inc. is a small but dedicated special interest organisation with a passion for the preservation of the theatre pipe organ and its art-form. I feel that the Society’s collective achievements over the past 50 years as an ACT Incorporated Association has been quite extraordinary given the on-going challenges and work-load that have confronted us – and still! Our 50th anniversary was celebrated September last year and in March 2023 was the Compton organ’s 90th anniversary of its original 1932/3 construction and inauguration. The Compton organ was then featured at the launch of the Inaugural World Heritage Day Oration on 17th April 2023 in the Albert Hall and was met with fulsome praise by officials, heritage experts and the public alike. Through the continuing efforts of our small but dedicated maintenance team the Compton organ is re-finding its original harmonic voice and timbre – and with more work planned over the coming months to complete that task. Other activities involve pursuing technical solutions to remedy faulty contacts through wear and corrosion on all the pedal swell-shoe shutter operations. May I say that the Society’s end target is to aim to ‘future-proof’ the Compton against further long-term maintenance needs wherever possible.
Once most of these tasks are completed and a final voicing and tuning of the organ with the new Bourdon rank in place, it is expected for the Compton to be in operational readiness in time for next year’s Heritage Week in April 2024. We might then be in a better position regarding future concert artists later in the year. To that end, I believe it is important for all members to appreciate the tasks at hand and have included a comprehensive listing prepared by Stephen Lanham of all the maintenance activities that the team is progressing with at this time. I thank Steve and his small team on their dedication and professional standard and craftsmanship of the work carried out. I am sure you can appreciate as much as do I, the great extent of volunteer effort and time along with the ongoing administrative and financial matters, that always require prompt attention in the background. As a final reminder to any members who may have overlooked their Annual Subscription renewals – so easy to happen - your involvement and the continued membership of all our members is vitally important for our objectives to be realised. I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Safe and Enjoyable Christmas and Festive Season and a Happy New Year for 2024!
Sincerely,
Kingsley Herbert
 

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